The spatial extent, intensity and location
of atmospheric river (AR) landfall are well reproduced by the RCMs, as is the fraction of winter rainfall from AR days.
Then a steady stream
of atmospheric river events brought double the long - term average of rain and snow to the Sierra Nevada between October 2016 and April 2017.
Note the tight arc of clouds stretching from Hawaii to California, a visible manifestation
of the atmospheric river pouring moisture into western states.
That Great Flood of 1862 was actually a train
of atmospheric river storms over about a month, leading to a 200 - year flood.
This study found that associated with a poleward shift of the subtropical jet in the North Pacific basin, the number
of atmospheric river days increases much more significantly in Alaska during spring because both increased moisture and increased wind speed gang up to increase the frequency of atmospheric rivers.
In one sentence: A strikingly large increase in the number
of atmospheric river days awaits the U.S. west coast if climate warming remains relatively unchecked, according to researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Results: A strikingly large increase in the number
of atmospheric river days awaits the U.S. west coast if climate warming remains relatively unchecked.
In a warmer climate, the atmosphere can hold even more moisture, so it is not surprising that the number
of atmospheric river days will increase in the future.
The study was constructed from climatological data
of atmospheric river events from 1979 to 2014.
A series
of atmospheric river storms is to blame, and the state's ageing dams are feeling the strain
«Given that atmospheric rivers over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans appear as coherent filaments of water vapor lasting for up to a week, and that Lagrangian coherent structures have turned out to explain the formation of other geophysical flows, we wondered whether Lagrangian coherent structures might somehow play a role in the formation
of atmospheric rivers,» said study coauthor Vicente Perez - Munuzuri, a physicist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
According to the study, winter flooding in the UK is set to get more severe and more frequent under the influence of climate change as a result of a change in the characteristics
of atmospheric rivers (ARs).
They compared two simulations, present and future,
of atmospheric rivers determined from the vertically integrated water vapor flux to quantify the changes in atmospheric rivers that make landfall over western North America.
A study published earlier this year found that climate change may contribute to the growth
of atmospheric rivers, increasing the threat of associated flooding.
McEvoy called this level
of atmospheric rivers «way above normal.»
Payne, A. E., and G. Magnusdottir (2015): An evaluation
of atmospheric rivers over the North Pacific in CMIP5 and their response to warming under RCP 8.5, J. Geophys.
Climate models project that the intensity and duration
of atmospheric rivers increase in the Golden State in a warming climate, with the most intense atmospheric river storms becoming more frequent.
One recent study from a University of Georgia team underscored that the U.S. Southeast sees a steady stream
of atmospheric rivers.
Not exact matches
Since then it's taken the first - ever photos
of Jupiter's poles, discovered
atmospheric «
rivers»
of ammonia, watched 870 - mile - wide cyclones swirl, recorded mysterious auroras, and probed deep into the planet's thick cloud tops for evidence
of a solid core, among other feats.
Since then, it has taken the first - ever photos
of Jupiter's poles, discovered
atmospheric «
rivers»
of ammonia, watched 870 - mile - wide cyclones swirl, recorded mysterious auroras, and probed deep into the planet's thick cloud tops for evidence
of a solid core, among other feats.
Coal that's mined in Wyoming's prolific Powder
River Basin has the same
atmospheric impact whether it's burned at home or in a power plant outside
of Shanghai.
In previous work, the researchers have uncovered key stages
of the Madden - Julian Oscillation that affect far - off weather, including
atmospheric rivers.
«The Lagrangian coherent structures serve as a kind
of temporary scaffolding around which an
atmospheric river can grow and lengthen,» Perez - Munuzuri said.
Using publically available data about wind speed and water vapor flux from real - world
atmospheric rivers over the Atlantic, the scientists created a computer model consisting
of thousands
of moving virtual air particles and found a close match between the complex swirls — the Lagrangian coherent structures — made by the air particles and the patterns made by the real
atmospheric rivers.
The research emerged from a graduate seminar on
atmospheric rivers developed by UGA Distinguished Research Professor Tom Mote, one
of the authors
of the study.
While
atmospheric rivers vary in size and shape, those containing large amounts
of water vapor, strong winds, and that stall over watersheds vulnerable to flooding, can create extreme rainfall and floods.
«Drought - busting rainfall this month, which also compromised the U.S.'s tallest dam, has been associated with these
atmospheric rivers or what some call the Pineapple Express,» said J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor and director
of the
atmospheric sciences program at UGA.
University
of Georgia geography and
atmospheric sciences researchers provide the first detailed climatological analysis
of Southeastern
atmospheric rivers in a new study published in the International Journal
of Climatology.
The team thinks Lagrangian coherent structures could provide a better way
of identifying and classifying
atmospheric rivers.
This has led to a large decrease in sulfur emissions, and less
atmospheric deposition
of sulfate to agricultural fields, and consequently, declining sulfate concentrations in
rivers.
Yet despite the importance
of these «
atmospheric rivers» for the global water and heat cycles, the mechanism behind their formation is still a mystery.
In 2016, researchers reported the first use
of a deep - learning system to identify tropical cyclones,
atmospheric rivers and weather fronts: loosely defined features whose identification depends on expert judgement.
These models aim to incorporate complex climate phenomena such as the fine structures
of clouds,
atmospheric rivers and ocean eddies.
A study published this year by Bradley Udall, senior water and climate research scientist with the Colorado Water Institute at Colorado State University, and Jonathan Overpeck, professor
of hydrology and
atmospheric sciences at the University
of Arizona, found that during the drought years
of 2000 - 2014, the
river surrendered a third
of its flow because
of higher temperatures in the upper basin.
When
atmospheric rivers hit land, they bring more than a third
of the rainfall that the western states typically receive in the course
of an entire year.
The continual drop in oceanographic pH (increase in acidity) is arguably one
of the most worrying effects
of atmospheric carbon, as up to 40 %
of the CO2 released will eventually be dissolved into the world's oceans, lakes, and
rivers.
Researchers charge global warming with projected significant increases in the frequency
of both extreme precipitation and landfalling
atmospheric rivers
That is because
atmospheric rivers (see sidebar) often produce heavy, cold season precipitation and flooding when they hit the west coast
of North America.
Why It Matters: On average,
atmospheric rivers hit the western United States only a few times each winter, but they transport significant amounts
of moisture that converges in the mountains producing heavy precipitation.
In the hands
of the whizzes at SVS, spreadsheets and data turn into a trippy array
of bubbles representing gamma rays, or a satellite's view
of water vapor swirling into
atmospheric rivers.
The preliminary results
of this study have been on our website since the time the flooding happened, but now we have looked not only at the rainfall, but also the influence
of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on the
atmospheric circulation and how this propagates from rainfall, to
river flow down to the direct impact
of flooded houses in the
river catchment zones.
For the hydrological modelling
of the Thames
river catchment done at CEH we showed that the changes in
atmospheric circulation and precipitation caused higher peak 30 - day
river flow, while flood risk mapping revealed a small increase in flood risk for properties in the Thames catchment.
We had an example
of this in the U.K. last Winter, 2015/2016, following the v. strong El Nino, and the
atmospheric river effect which brought record rainfall and flooding to much
of the British Isles.
These moisture plumes are sometimes called «
atmospheric rivers,» which are responsible for some
of the most damaging flooding events along the U.S. West Coast, particularly in California.
A NOAA website on
atmospheric rivers contains this fascinating statistic that illustrates just how much moisture can be transported by winds in the mid-to-upper atmosphere: «A strong
atmospheric river transports an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to 7.5 - 15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River.&r
river transports an amount
of water vapor roughly equivalent to 7.5 - 15 times the average flow
of liquid water at the mouth
of the Mississippi
River.&r
River.»
According to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), up to half
of the yearly precipitation along the West Coast comes in just a few
atmospheric river events.
According to NOAA, these
atmospheric rivers account for 30 to 50 percent
of the annual precipitation to the West Coast.
An Pineapple Express
atmospheric river of moist, tropical air will help warm things up further.
Higher rates
of rain fall there, which is then channeled into valleys, agitates
rivers that aren't ready for the gush
of water, said Jeff Weber, an
atmospheric scientist at the University Corporation
of Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colo..
With its chilly,
atmospheric and convincing story, Wind
River has the feel
of a richly immersive novel.